Fall 2026

Chemical Process Thermodynamics

CBE 310 teaches thermodynamic principles, energy balances, and reaction equilibria for chemical processes.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Matt Gebbie3.5/5

Summary

1 / 7

The course is a challenge that tests conceptual thermodynamics understanding. Homework is low-point but harshly graded, and success depends on completing assigned readings rather than relying solely on lectures or homework problems.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(MATH 234 or 376), (PHYSICS 201, 207, 247,E M A 202 or M E 240),CBE 250, and (CBE 255 or concurrent enrollment), or member of Engineering Guest Students

CBE 310 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.00/5 from 6 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Matt Gebbie is described as caring, friendly, and accommodating regarding student well-being and schedule conflicts. Reviewers note he is approachable and takes feedback seriously, with one student predicting continued improvement in his teaching.

However, multiple reviewers criticize his lecture structure as disorganized, confusing, and lacking clear plans or visual aids. Students report that his explanations are often convoluted, he covers irrelevant topics in depth, and he is inaccessible or unhelpful through online platforms.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.01 GPA, 29.3% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Spring 2023: 3.01 GPA, 36.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.04 GPA, 35.9% A/AB (n=39 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Brian Pfleger, James Miller: James Miller and Brian Pfleger are praised for making challenging material clear and engaging. Miller is highly accessible and makes the course interesting, though exams are time-constrained. Pfleger effectively applies thermodynamics to real-world scenarios to keep dry lectures interesting, but students also report exams are excessively long.

BRIAN PFLEGER is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHRISTIAN TORMOS is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JAMES MILLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KATELYN DAHLKE is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MATT GEBBIE is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NATASHA MALLETTE is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RAHUL SUJANANI is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REGINA MURPHY is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROSS SWANEY is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Spring 2014, Spring 2019, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction44 / 660
DIS 302Classroom Instruction33 / 350
DIS 303Classroom Instruction11 / 330

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Matt Gebbie is described as caring and accommodating, but his teaching quality is polarizing. Students report disorganized lectures and a heavy reliance on independent textbook study, with opinions ranging from fine instruction to poor delivery.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.10 GPA, 47.9% A/AB (n=48 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.01 GPA, 37.8% A/AB (n=45 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.10 GPA, 46.2% A/AB (n=65 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is a challenge that tests conceptual thermodynamics understanding. Homework is low-point but harshly graded, and success depends on completing assigned readings rather than relying solely on lectures or homework problems.

Lectures are frequently criticized as disorganized, unstructured, and confusing due to a lack of lecture plans or visual aids. Conversely, TAs are noted as helpful for clarifying concepts, and the professor is praised for being approachable and accommodating regarding exam conflicts.

Topics

  • Thermodynamics and energy balances
  • Pure fluid behavior
  • Chemical reaction equilibria

Skills

  • Thermodynamic analysis and energy balance calculations
  • Fluid behavior and reaction equilibrium modeling

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.11 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
CBE 310 · Fall 2026

Chemical Process Thermodynamics

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:220:002673",
    "course_id": "CBE 310",
    "course_uid": "course_b5f2d69262376f2247530313",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "002673",
    "source_subject_id": "220",
    "title": "Chemical Process Thermodynamics",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "97beadfde51af1a27d92ffcc0090b6a93886a913a24b91bc278fce05ac092035",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}